A Flip of the Coin
by Firefly567
Summary: A small piece dedicated to Joshua, taking place before the final battle with the Demon King. A gift fic written for Macbeth 7768 for Fire Emblem Mew Mew's Secret Santa exchange.


_**A/N: **This is a gift fic for Macbeth 7768, written for Fire Emblem Mew Mew's 2012 Secret Santa fic exchange. I struggled for a while trying to figure out what I wanted this fic to be, but I finally decided on a small character piece dedicated to Joshua (with some Gerik on the side). It's been some time since I played Sacred Stones, so I apologize in advance for any characterization missteps. I also had some unexpected personal and professional problems arise over the course of December that cut down the time I thought I'd have to work on this... so I apologize if this seems somewhat rushed._

_I'm really sorry that I couldn't get this out sooner and ended up missing the deadline by a few minutes. Regardless... I hope you enjoy it, Macbeth, and Merry (belated) Christmas._

-o-

Joshua sat at a small table inside his tent, opposite one of the soldiers of Renais. Their army had been marching on the Demon King the past few days, which meant his time for gambling had been almost non-existent. The wind carried music and laughter from the party going on outside. It was a small celebration set up by the Eirika and Ephraim to honor the solstice Renais held every winter.

Joshua knew there were other reasons... perhaps because of his own royal instincts. In the next couple of days, they would be reaching the end of this senseless war. The final confrontation was just around the corner, and perhaps what the army needed most was time to relax, even if it wasn't for long.

"What are you waiting for?" the soldier demanded.

"Ah, of course. Call it," Joshua said, flipping the coin in the air.

"Tails!"

The coin landed in his hand, and after some quick sleight of hand, he reveled the result. "Heads. I win again."

"Dammit! That's the tenth time in a row!" the soldier shouted.

_He's almost as persistent as Innes. _

"Again! Do it again!"

_Almost._

Joshua sighed. "Are you sure you want to push your luck? Your debt is quite high as it is-"

"I don't care!" the man cut him off.

Even Joshua had his limits. As easy as it had been to swindle this man out of his money, he couldn't help feeling a tinge of regret. Perhaps it was Gerik's intervention rubbing off on him, a result of the losses he had suffered to L'Arachel or because of the particular occasion. Whatever the case might have been, he simply didn't feel up to it anymore.

"That's enough. I'm done," Joshua said, pocketing his coin.

The man looked shocked. "W-what? You're going to walk away?! Just like that?!"

"I'm afraid so. Even if you do feel like losing more of your money, I'm afraid I'm just not in the mood to take it."

"How dare you-"

"Enough!" a regal voice interjected.

The soldier swiftly turned to see who had cut him off, but halted any plans he might have had when he saw who it was.

"P-Prince Ephraim..." the man stammered, bowing.

"Your shouting is interfering with the festivities."

The man looked completely defeated. "O-of course, your highness. I'll take my leave..." he trailed off, gathering what little he had left and quickly leaving the tent.

"Joshua. At it again, I see," Ephraim sighed. "Do you plan to make all my men broke before this war is over?"

Joshua chuckled. "Only the ones stupid enough to gamble with me."

"It's a party, why are you spending your time gambling? Shouldn't you be enjoying yourself?" he asked.

"Surely you jest. I am in the company of Lady Luck, what more enjoyment could I ask for?"

Ephraim shook his head and sighed once more. "Fine, have it your way. Oh, and Gerik was looking for you. I haven't seen him look so serious in a long time... I'm not sure what's happening with you two, but I need you to deal with it before we head into battle," he stated firmly.

"Hm... yes, distractions during such an important battle could prove to be very unlucky," Joshua mulled over.

"Good," Ephraim replied. "Try to enjoy the rest of your night _without _bankrupting my men." With that, Ephraim turned and left, giving Joshua a small bow before he did so.

"Gerik, eh?" he mulled over_.  
_

_I suspect he wants to talk about our fight from last week. We haven't been on speaking terms since then... but I'm not sure what's left to discuss. We both made our positions rather clear... I was rather lucky it didn't turn violent. I doubt Marisa would have looked favorably upon us brawling over her.  
_

Joshua took a moment to stretch as he exited his tent, taking in the cool night air wafting over the camp. The party was still in full swing, the sounds no longer muffled by the flaps of his tent. He took a moment to observe everyone, all of whom he recognized... and many he could call friends.

He began strolling through the camp, the first thing that caught his eye was Artur sharing a drink with Lute. The young monk waved when he met Joshua's eyes, a gesture he returned with a smile.

L'Ararchel was leading a dance, if you could call what they were doing dancing, along with an enthusiastic Dozla and a not so enthusiastic Rennac. She noticed him walking by, and as she was about to grab him and rope him in, a rather unsuspecting Innes grabbed her intention instead. The young prince looked less than enthused when she grabbed his arm and once again began ungraciously flailing around.

He quickly thanked Lady Luck, and after a few more moments of walking he finally saw Gerik, along with his mercenary band, gathered around one of the campfires. They were all talking and laughing loudly... they were probably the loudest company in the army. Ewan and Tethys seemed to be talking something over, and Marisa seemed rather distant as she stared into the flames in front of her.

Although Joshua had gambled with most of Gerik's men, he had made good on his promise to return their money. It made him wonder what Gerik wished to discuss.

"Ah, Joshua! It's about time!" Gerik laughed loudly, standing up and meeting him a few feet away from everyone else.

"Ephraim seemed to think you were serious about something, but you look fine to me," Joshua sighed, slightly rubbing his temple. Maybe it was just Ephraim's way of trying to get Joshua into the party.

Gerik's expression suddenly turned serious as he began pulling Joshua away from the mercenaries. "Yes, about that..." he trailed off.

Or maybe not.

"I've been thinking about that duel we're supposed to have-"

"You're not backing out on me, are you?" Joshua asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Gerik gave him a smirk. "No, I'm not. In fact, I want to up the ante."

That peeked his curiosity. "What did you have in mind?"

Gerik's expression changed, and his tone turned deathly serious. "You remember our discussions about Marisa, right? I seem to remember we're both quite fond of her."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Joshua asked.

"I may not know everything about her, but I can tell she cares about both of us. I remember last time our discussion got... somewhat heated. I believe there's only one way we can agree to settle this," he stated.

Joshua sighed. "Ephraim was certainly right about you being serious."

"Of course. This is the biggest gamble of my life."

Joshua mulled it over for a few minutes, but finally chuckled to himself.

"Have you asked her what she feels? There's no point in this if she's made up her mind."

"I did, but you know how Marisa is. Anything outside of combat is foreign to her especially, it seems, when it comes to matters of the heart," Gerik sighed.

Joshua nodded his head slowly. "I see no other way to settle this, but I doubt Marisa would approve of us dueling over her. A simple flip of the coin is fair and should suffice. You'd best prepare yourself, though, because I'm feeling luckier than usual," he smirked.

Gerik finally smiled, laughing as his seriousness vanished. "It's settled, then! Now come, my friend! Tonight, we enjoy the festivities!" he shouted, wrapping an arm around Joshua and dragging him back to the camp.

Artur and Lute had joined the mercenaries, the latter looking more off put than usual. Throughout the night of merriment and joy, Joshua found time to spend with almost everyone he had grown to care for over this long war. He even had a chance to speak to some he hadn't yet had the pleasure of meeting... and managed to lighten a few of their wallets while he was at it.

At the end of the night, he laid in his bed, unable to wipe his smile away. Whatever the outcome of the final battle might have been, whatever future lay in store for Joshua, he would rest easy that night knowing he would be fighting alongside his greatest friends.

Friends he would treasure for the rest of his life.

-o-

_**A/N: **Well, as you probably noticed that was a somewhat abrupt ending. The reason this fic took so damn long outside of my rustiness was that I couldn't figure out an ending I liked (I'm not of a fan of the one I finally used). There was originally an entire scene after Joshua and Gerik's bit focusing on some of Joshua's other supports, but for various reasons it got condensed to what I have now. I do feel bad that I ended it where I did... I know you said you didn't want this to revolve around romance, and the Joshua/Gerik scene was only supposed to be one of few, not the center of the fic. If I had more time I could have perfected this and produced a more quality fic, but with my personal problems this month among the other things I've already mentioned, I just didn't have the time I thought I would.  
_

_Ah, but I'll try not to end on such a downer. I really hope you liked this, Macbeth. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years everyone._


End file.
